discretionary spending

Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

n. The amount or portion of a person's or group's expenditures which is used for non-essential or voluntary disbursements; the amount or portion of one's expenditures which one may make as one sees fit.

n. The action of making such expenditures.

n. US government expenditures which are subject to annual review and authorization by Congress, as distinct from expenditures authorized by existing laws.